Lessons of the Gothic: Character Archetypes (Three Moments of an Explosion)

In the gothic formula, there are always very specific character types. I would like to point out what they are, give examples of each kind and how they are used in gothic literature and film. If we can see examples of each type of gothic character being used successfully, then we can have a better idea of how to create our own characters to fit these roles. First off we need a list of the character types in the gothic formula. These are not strict character roles or a complete list of them but they are:

The Virginal Maiden:

An innocent, young, and pure woman that is generally part of a greater party, aristocrats etc. This character is used to pull at the heartstrings of the audience, to give a sense of innocence. We make her vulnerable to be saved by the hero or to hurt her to define a villain. 

(There is nothing quicker to define a character as evil than to show a character unjustly abusing a girl, David Lynch does this a lot in his films. This is the character you do that with. If you notice, the gothic formula and horror, in general, is very patriarchal and misogynistic, horror doesn't have to be but it generally is.)

Frankenstein: Elizabeth (Innocent, killed by the Monster)

Interview with the Vampire: Claudia (Innocent, killed by Armand due to Lestat)

A Wild Sheep Chase: Narrators Girlfriend (Innocent, assumed safe, driven away by ghosts)

China Mieville, Säcken: Joanna (Innocent, killed by the Sacken)

The Complicit Older Woman/Henchman:

Generally, a woman that agrees with the unjust hierarchy that she is in, working with the tyrant/villain against the hero. This character is part of the irony that drives storytelling. Use this character as a mirror to the hero or virginal maiden. This is what the hero or virginal maiden would be like if they submitted to the tyrant/villain. The hero or virginal maiden uses the complicit woman to convince themselves that the tyrant/villain isn't actually correct. If this character wasn't there, the hero/virginal maiden might be tempted to agree with the tyrant/villain unable to see the outcome of submitting to them.

Frankenstein:  Victor, Frankensteins chauffeur to Paris

Interview with the Vampire: Jealous female Vampires

China Mieville, After the Festival: Charlie (forced)

A Wild Sheep Chase: The Bosses Recruiter/The Rat

The Hero:

The protagonist is generally a gentleman trying to gain the hand of the heroine. The hero doesn't always know the whereabouts of the heroine. The hero isn't always successful, generally, in the gothic formula, they don't win the heroine. She is often killed by the tyrant/villain. Use this character as a hopeless romantic, with their goal being the heroine but ending up part of a much bigger story. The pursuit of the heroine should not be the primary goal of the story, only there to drive the hero to continue. Conflict needs to be established primarily by a tyrant/villain.

Frankenstein: Dr. Frankenstein

Interview with the Vampire: Louise

China Mieville, The Design: William

A Wild Sheep Chase: Narrator

The Tyrant/Villain:

The antagonist to the hero, generally a supernatural creature. This character we use as the conflicting party to the hero. Without conflict, we don't have a story. We want this character to still have appeal though and plenty of power to "fight" with the protagonist. You don't want them to be absolutely powerful or too weak. Too weak and we wonder why the hero is struggling. Too powerful and we don't believe that anything could win against it. The power dynamic between the hero and tyrant/villain should drive the rising action of your story. Often the tyrant/villain is extremely close to the protagonist like a close relative or master.

Frankenstein: The Monster

Interview with the Vampire: Lestat

Säcken: The Säcken

A Wild Sheep Chase: The Boss/Goat with a star mark => The Rat/Goat with a star mark

The Setting itself:

In the horror genre, the setting itself is fighting the protagonist. This is usually extreme climates or a multichambered environment, like castles, dungeon, etc.

Frankenstein: Tundras, Cold weather, Oceans, Castle/Lab

Interview with the Vampire: the sun, coffins, farmer woman's home, theatre 

Säcken: Cabin, Lake, Boat

A Wild Sheep Chase: Tundras, Blizzards, Rats property

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein: annotated for scientists, engineers, and creators of all kinds. The MIT Press, 2017.


Rice, Anne. Interview with the vampire. Ballantine Books, 1977.

Murakami, Haruki, and Alfred Birnbaum. A wild sheep chase. Vintage Books, 2002.

Miéville, China. Three moments of an explosion: stories. Del Rey, 2016.